The big gun word hound will check in shortly, however, and tell you the truth.

That's me, nijonetwon, and I want you to forget all that pollyanna jive about smiley faces on clams. The correct phrase is " Happy as a clam at a clambake". Get it? A bit of subtle irony coupled with the fact that when clams are heated they open their shells slightly in the manner of a grim smile.

Here in Alabama we don't have many clams. We just have mussels and oysters. Our term is "Happy as a mussel at a musselbake". Oysters are so wrinkled we don't know if they are smiling or not. Glad to help.